A picture tour of the newer, flatter iCloud.com update.

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Apple showed us a glimpse of the drastic redesign coming with iOS 7 at its Worldwide Developer Conference back in June, but the iPhone and iPad operating system isn't the only thing that's getting a fresh coat of paint this fall. Many of Apple's other applications and services borrow design elements from iOS 6, and we expect all of those services to trade in their faux-realistic textures and skeuomorphism for Jony Ive's cleaner, "flatter" iOS 7 design. The iCloud.com site, which gives iCloud users Web access to many of Apple's cloud services, is one of those services, and Apple has just updated the iCloud beta site with a new look and feel.

Unlike the OS X 10.9 and iOS 7 previews, anyone with a registered Apple ID and iCloud account can roll up to beta.icloud.com and get a look at the new features before iOS 7 is released (which could be as soon as September 10, when Apple's next iPhone will supposedly be unveiled). In the meantime, we'll take you for a tour through the new features so you're ready for them when Apple flips the switch.

Right from the login screen, it's clear that the iCloud beta is taking design cues from the iOS 7 demo we saw at WWDC. Out with the linen and textures, in with flatter textures and clean, lightweight fonts and images.

Andrew Cunningham

The icons for the iCloud.com services have been switched from iOS 6 versions to iOS 7 versions. The iWork icon and its wood texture looks out-of-place here.

Andrew Cunningham

The new webmail client is all clean lines and basic colors. It's attractive, if simple.

Andrew Cunningham

The Compose window is similarly basic-but-functional. Helvetica Neue is the default font, same as in iOS 7.

Andrew Cunningham

The webmail client includes some basic settings for composing messages, setting a vacation responder, and more.

Andrew Cunningham

The Contacts app, like most contacts apps, is straightforward. You can add and edit your contacts and groups, and your changes will sync to all of your connected Macs and iOS devices.

Andrew Cunningham

Editing a phone number. All of the standard fields are accessible.

Andrew Cunningham

Uploading profile pictures.

Andrew Cunningham

The Calendar app's redesign. If you've ever used Google Calendar or Outlook or MeetingMaker or anything similar, you know what's going on here: you can maintain and share multiple calendars, which you can either share with the world at large or with specific users.

Andrew Cunningham

Bright, flat colors are once again the norm for the redesigned version of the app.

Andrew Cunningham

Once you're in one of the iCloud apps, clicking in the upper left-hand corner will pop out a menu you can use to navigate between the services.

Andrew Cunningham

The Notes app also gets a makeover. While it tosses the yellow legal pad and the atrocious faux-handwriting Marker Felt default font, the white background still uses a very light paper texture.

Andrew Cunningham

Reminders is still a sort-of-supplement to Calendar that lets you create and dismiss quick, one-off to-do items or appointments.

Andrew Cunningham

When you have a calendar appointment or time-based reminder set, a small notification will pop down within the browser window to jog your memory.

Andrew Cunningham

The Find My iPhone service has gotten a visual upgrade, but functionally the service is the same as it ever was. It even continues to use Google Maps (rather than Apple's own mapping data) to show you where your devices are.

Andrew Cunningham

The iWork for iCloud apps are currently in a closed, developer-only beta, though reports have said that some regular users are beginning to get invites to take them for a spin. We'll be giving the final versions a closer look (and comparing them to Google Drive) when they're released.

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Andrew Cunningham
Andrew wrote and edited tech news and reviews at Ars Technica from 2012 to 2017, where he still occasionally freelances; he is currently a lead editor at Wirecutter. He also records a weekly book podcast called Overdue. Twitter@AndrewWrites